1969: Introducing the MOOG SYNTHESISER | Tomorrow's World | Retro Tech | BBC Archive

Derek Cooper introduces the Moog synthesiser, an instrument that can produce a variety of noises and arrangements, both mimicking real instruments and creating new sounds - all electronically.
This clip is from Tomorrow's World, originally broadcast 30 September 1969.
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[@abrokenframe82]

Nice to hear the narrator pronounce the name Moog correctly. Rest in peace Robert Moog, the grandfather of electronic music.

[@julianaylor4351]

The late Raymond Baxter, who was a Battle of Britain pilot, before he ended up as a television presenter.

[@abrokenframe82]

@@julianaylor4351 Interesting info, thanks

[@thetwistedsock3253]

Yes, correctly. He even introduced himself as Bob Moog. I always tell people they're pronouncing his name incorrectly. Ah well.

[@thethrawnscotsman5260]

In an interview Bob Moog said he didn't care which way it was pronounced. Half of his family pronounce it Mooog and the other have Moag.

[@thethrawnscotsman5260]

@@thetwistedsock3253 In an interview Bob Moog said he didn't care which way it was pronounced. Half of his family pronounce it Mooog and the other have Moag.

[@perge_music]

I find it interesting that when these machines arrived and were a hit, but then were deemed primitive in the 80s as they couldn't make emulations of real instruments as per the digital samplers that arrived from Japan, so these old Moogs and whatnot were dumped and regarded as worthless. Then in the 90s as house music and similar grew in popularity it was realised that few wanted a synth to sound like a piano, flute or violin, they wanted them to sound like a synth and the value of these old machines skyrocketed. It's like synthesisers, which had been viewed as 'the instrument of the future' had become permanently retro as those old sounds are all anyone wants on their electronic music.

[@PJV1990]

I remember reading an interview with Jean Michel Jarre where he said that digital synths were a lost era of electronic music because of the very reasons you've mentioned. He utterly hated the DX 7. Programming and altering patches on those digital synths (especially the DX 7 and Roland D-50) is an enormous pain though if you persevere you can get really interesting stuff from them that doesn't sound like synth versions of classic instruments. Thankfully Jean Michel kept all of his old analogue gear and still uses it today. It's funny that those instruments that were considered junk and obsolete in the '80s are now highly sought after and are extremely expensive, whereas those digital synths can be bought for as little as £300.

[@perge_music]

@@PJV1990 He loved his D50 though, said he was 'obsessed with it', Revolutions is 95% D50 and Cousteau JD800. The DX7 gets a bad rap but much of TD's and Eno's sound in the early 80s were made with them. Can't beat a big modular though even if they aren't very practical.

[@jeshkam]

​@@PJV1990I think the only two musicians who could really use this thing were Jan Hammer and Brian Eno. Hammer made it sing while Eno could program the hell out of it.

[@videosuperhighway7655]

I remember scrapping truckloads of Moog modulars at the scrapyard I worked. We would use them for target practice as well. Little did I know I was 20.

[@andygriffith5160]

​@@perge_musicThe JD-800 was released in 1991, Waiting for Cousteau was 1990. Maybe it was Chronologie (1993) he used the JD-800 for?

[@fredo1070]

Viddy well, little brother, viddy well.

[@buffstraw2969]

Alex and his 3 drogues. Droogs, drogues, moogs, mogues, pogues, rogues.

[@SanderAnderon]

Well, this is absoulute "peak youtube" to my ears -- I begin every morning with BBC Archive , then absorb synthesizer demos, how-to's etc till lunch. This gem is the tops, thank you.

[@jeshkam]

I initially thought it was the great late Alan Hawkshaw, but turns out it's another KPM genius Mike Vickers, author of the iconic "Visitation", a legendary tune in my country.

[@childrenofminervaofficial4316]

And one of the original members of Manfred Mann!!!

[@jeaninekelly4271]

I learned on one of these in Electronic Music class in the 1980’s. Thank you for the video.

[@nicklafrance5949]

Did anyone else hear that bit of "Baba O'Riley"? Two years before the song. Wonder if Pete T. saw this documentary.

[@aerialcombat]

I love that Beatles bit at the end, "Norwegian Wood"

[@pinoagnus]

Used to great effect on Abbey Road, especially "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"

[@hepphepps8356]

He did the synth programming for Abbey Road that same year.

[@digitalramyun]

For anyone who hasn’t found out yet… Mike Vickers (ex-Manfred Mann) was one of the very few in the UK in 1969 who could program a Moog modular, so the Beatles enlisted him to patch George Harrison’s Moog system for “Abbey Road”. “Here Comes The Sun”; “Because”; “Maxwell”… Mike Vickers programmed those tones.

[@progmeup]

And yet, it's his former bandleader, Manfred Mann, who became one of the most expressive synthesizer players (albeit only after the Minimoog was introduced)

[@thomassanchez-oo6sb]

Mr.Moog and Keith Emerson ❤️✌🏼

[@steverushforth7009]

Very "Lucky Men".

[@pressureworks]

Interesting instrument. Will be fascinating to hear how people use it.

[@thomassanchez-oo6sb]

Google Keith Emerson 🔥🔥🔥

[@thomassanchez-oo6sb]

Check out his set up

[@ralphsaenz5044]

​@@thomassanchez-oo6sbyou, Sir, know the good stuff. I salute you

[@anindyaroychowdhury]

@@thomassanchez-oo6sb specifically, "Lucky man", which was the first time he used the moog, I think

[@Dangonyon]

I call this one “greensleeves but a spaceship lands at the end”.

[@duncan-rmi]

mike vickers! he was the go-to guy for programming back then, because no-one else knew how!

[@nickharvey7233]

A compact console...

[@rjjcms1]

In the days when a computer meant a mainframe filling an entire room.

[@SRDhain]

Mike Vickers' moog modular IIIC was one of the first few in the U.K. As legend has it, it was his prpgramming skills on George's IIIP that was on the Abbey Road album.

[@hepphepps8356]

Not legend. Well documented! And photographed! This is the guy behind the legendary, historic moog sounds on Here comes the sun and Because. In the same year as this video.

[@SRDhain]

@@hepphepps8356 you're right .

[@FctHvn]

@@hepphepps8356what about maxwells silver hammer? I hear a moog on that song too

[@john8t8t]

Love the voice of the narrator. I believe it's Raymond Baxtor.

[@helenabarnett6441]

Raymond Baxter did indeed present a lot of Tomorrow's World and had a similar tone. I believe though this is in fact Derek Cooper...perhaps more memorable from the Food Programme on BBC R4. Both had that post war gravitas in their voice when explaining science...

[@MrSimonmcc]

It's Derek Cooper. It's in the description. Wonderfully narrated in a no nonsense style.

[@Mick_Ts_Chick]

​@@helenabarnett6441Is his accent considered RP? I'm American and am trying to work out UK accents.

[@HeathcliffBlair]

@@Mick_Ts_Chick Yes. RP of the old school.

[@Mick_Ts_Chick]

@@HeathcliffBlair OK, thanks.

[@80ssynthfan48]

Wonderful sounds. Some of them.

[@BetamaxFlippy]

Very happy to see this finally restored!

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

Meanwhile in Germany a new generation of Musicians, who did not just want to play the music of the Americans and Brits, were eagerly embracing the possibilities of the Synthesizer and created an entirely new form of Music & a new form of culture that was lovingly welcomed by music listeners all across the world, which then really evolved into a worldwide thing

[@Duncan_1971]

This is like a classic sportscar nowadays. Everybody wants one!

[@PlanetImo]

SO coool!!

[@ryantowell]

I've loved electronic music and syntheizers since I was young. I think if I had been around in the 60's and discovered something like this I would have wet myself.

[@HeathcliffBlair]

Interesting video. Thanks. Ultimately, the BBC dodged the Moog system in favour of the British made EMS synthesizers which became mainstays of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop throughout the 70s. Great synths! 🙂

[@welshaccenttutorials3104]

I've seen footage of Pete Howell using a Yamaha CS80

[@HeathcliffBlair]

@@welshaccenttutorials3104 Yeah, they took up Yamahas, Oberheims, ARPs, etc toward the end of the 70s into the early 80s. The EMS synths were just used for parts and accessories by then. Pity. They were far more distinctive sounding instruments. Problem was that they were also bulky and a bit slow.

[@indigohammer5732]

They saw the Mellotron as an instrument of the Devil

[@timburdsey]

03:40 sounds like he’s about to jam on Baba O’Riley!

[@rjjcms1]

@@timburdseyWe thought alike there! Edit: so did a few other people,scrolling down the comments.

[@fawdian]

Very nice tutorial on synths.

[@gregpeterson3144]

the early 80s music went nuts with the synths :)

[@acidbubbles419]

Moog has just been acquired by a cooperation and had to lay off a bajillion of theor workers. End of an era...

[@julianaylor4351]

I remember Bryan Eno playing a smaller one on Top Of The Pops, in the classic lineup of Roxy Music. 🎶

[@nobordersnoflags9905]

he was playing an EMS Synthi

[@julianaylor4351]

@@nobordersnoflags9905 Thanks for the info. ♥️

[@rjjcms1]

Virginia Plain?

[@julianaylor4351]

@@rjjcms1 Yes, the clip is on KZbin.... What's her name? ....🎶

[@timtyler8822]

Starts playing Baba O’Riley at 3:39 😂

[@paulharvey2851]

I was just about to make the same comment but figured I can't be the only one who noticed the similarity!

[@Rhythmicons]

"His time could be devoted entirely to producing the music he wants to play" 3:19 This is AFTER it takes him 45 minutes to patch it up and tune everything, hoping that the wind doesn't blow the oscillators out of tune.

[@benjoe999]

R.i.p. moog

[@TheNAPSince2005]

Compact Console... Y, Yes

[@markbrown4039]

Which later became a music staple in Stanley Kubrick films.

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

well, just 2 of them. Most prominently of course in "a Clockwork Orange".

[@anindyaroychowdhury]

One of the best uses of the moog was from Jeff Wayne's War of the worlds (musical version) This, and in most of the songs from the soundrack kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpu7aZ93qrd5mMU

[@ROZENHART]

“You don’t need to be musical genius to play the Moog, you just need a very large bag of cash” 😂💰

[@tsitracommunications2884]

A-a-a-amen

[@nigelnix1]

It was the weekend hobby of many a manual switchboard telephonist.

[@thaexception3406]

Historic

[@matthewtrow5698]

video editors using the latest tech ... because they can ... just like now 😆 I'm referring to the intro bit, with multiple faces - totally unnecessary, just a video editor like "ooooh, if we have this multiple face thingy, it'll be super cool & trendy and modern!" Love it. As for the moog, Pete Townshend comes to mind - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWbZoIGvh9KpjtU&ab_channel=FailedMuso But then there's the ARP 2600 ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZLMfp2te5WUbJY&ab_channel=Reverb (used on Who Are You) Heck, we're talking almost a 60 year history now

[@tester-oi5ro]

It's when moog released the "Prodigy" synthesizer that built one of the most legendary bands, The Prodigy.

[@natashaefanova1473]

Ik geworden jaow ja tebja nasla❤

[@ChiefExecutiveOrbiter]

Super Compact

[@entropybentwhistle]

I have never seen the ribbon controller add on for the Moog modular before. Were they rare or people just didn’t use them?

[@Kae6502]

Keith Emerson used one on Pictures at an Exhibition.

[@Rhythmicons]

I can't speak to how rare they were then, but the ones in this video are scarce. The later ribbons come up for sale from time to time but their value is increasing. I have the 1150 Model, which is the same one replicated on the Moog 15 app.

[@flamencoprof]

03:33 Sets up for The Who's Baba O'Riley.

[@Ian-gw2vx]

You beat me to it. This was 1969, before Baba O' Riley though, so Townsend must have nicked this.

[@flamencoprof]

@@Ian-gw2vx In the video at this point they are demonstrating setting up a documented patch. My guess was that it came with whatever synth Pete used, as a sort of "preset". (Edit. I thought I better look it up. Wikipedia says "Townshend instead recorded a Lowrey Berkshire Deluxe TBO-1 organ using its marimba repeat feature..." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_O%27Riley

[@indigohammer5732]

@@Ian-gw2vxHe “nicked” A Rainbow in Curved Air by Terry Riley. As in “Baba O’ Riley”

[@nixonkutz3018]

Time to debug those weird spurs in the sine & triangle waves

[@FreezerKing]

"Compact" console

[@indigohammer5732]

The size of a chest freezer

[@porscha901]

The workshop did consider a moog but Ems less compldecated

[@lyntedrockley7295]

and free

[@201081hero]

Synthesiser Patel would approve of this video.

[@davedogge2280]

oh him, is he still going ? I remember his from that spoof series Look Around You

[@Wagoo]

@@davedogge2280he turned his water based Hydrasynth prototype into a synth available for the general public a few years ago

[@djsherz]

That machine would certainly be harder to steal.

[@Halleluyah83]

Сегодня это скорее всего имеет чисто технический интерес в историческом аспекте, чем музыкальный.

[@ghostexits]

3:36 Was this the inspiration for Pete Townsend's 1971 Baba O'Riley keyboard intro?

[@indigohammer5732]

That was “A Rainbow in Curved Air” by Terry Riley from 1968

[@ghostexits]

@@indigohammer5732 for sure; but this also sounds pretty similar. Maybe coincidence, but I can imagine Townsend probably saw this when it aired.

[@digitalramyun]

For “Baba O’Riley”, Townshend played a Lowrey organ, which had a setting called “marimba repeat” - this played a held note repeatedly, sounding like a marimba or mandolin. Sounds like a modern synth/arpeggiator, but Townshend played the notes “manually”, with the organ triggering the “repeat” effect.

[@Rhythmicons]

1:39 My model 10 doesn't sound like that. Power supply ripple perhaps?

[@waynegram8907]

What song is that called? its a classical song

[@billr3053]

Greensleeves

[@johnwade7430]

What is interesting to me is this player is only really playing Classical pieces - from the traditional era of music making.

[@80ssynthfan48]

It was in a sense the most obvious place to draw from, due to how many of the early electronic music pioneers were European.

[@vladimirharkonnen458]

[@stuartcommon4651]

And look at Moog now, such a shame

[@PedroMiguel-if3ll]

What you expect? Today when buying a Moog you are just paying the brand. There's so many hardware, VST synths and Moog emulators available that can produce these tones and much more. Yes, Moog was the first synth with a keyboard useful for musicians and they will always have a special place in history, but if you just care about the sound, there's no point to spend all that money on Moog

[@roncolem4558]

I was talking to a co-worker about Moog. Great build quality and rep but 9000 dollars for the Moog One? For just a amatuer musician who loves making music that's just too much.

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

They had it coming. Overselling their made in china hardware that was just ASSEMBLED in the USA and then sold to rich hipster kids and wealthy producers. Even their Theremins are insanely overpriced. And a Theremin really isn't a super sophisticated space-engine tech that justifies that asking price. They had their expensive niche for a while but i'm glad analog Synthesizers have become actually affordable and accessible now.

[@roncolem4558]

Starsky Carr did a video " Moog vs Novation Bass Station 2" Although Moog was obviously better , The BS2 was that far off the mark.$2,000 vs $500 .

[@stoneyboyd]

I know that he’s playing Green Sleeves at the beginning, but it still sound SO much better than modern electronic music, if you could even call it music.

[@moochincrawdad]

It'll never catch on, it's just a fad! 🤣

[@Cornz38]

Pronounced Moog as in to rhyme with "vogue".

[@gkeaoyrge]

When the BBC was worth watching.

[@AnnesYarak]

Sounds still better than all the modern synths including software!

[@squishmallowfan025]

If you can, you want to hear one in real life, there's a dimension to the sound which KZbin simply can't accomplish.

[@impalaman9707]

Are you a telephone switchboard operator---or a musician?🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@connor_flanigan]

my girls - they didn't care for the Moog modular at first. in fact, one of them actually stole a pack of matches and tried to burn it down. so I ...corrrrrected them, sir. and when my wife tried to prevent me from playing my Moog modular, I .....corrrrrected HER.

[@theendofeverything6356]

From when Great Britain believed that it actually had a future!

[@heckelphon]

And there at the opening is a prime example of someone whose harmonic knowledge is so non-existent that they can't write a functional bass-line to that tune without consecutive octaves all over the place. And he had transposed it to a white-notes only key!

[@Wagoo]

where can I listen to your synth jam from 1969?

[@rjjcms1]

The tune is Greensleeves!

[@progmeup]

Um, Mike Vickers wrote whole arrangements and stuff

[@positivelynegative9149]

Clear as mud. 🫤